Kyujunana 九十七
by Todoroki-kyun
Summary: "I can't fall in love." She whispered, pointing the gun towards his head. Blue eyes met red as the rain continued to pour. "For I am an assassin and you are my target."
1. Prologue

— _because for you I'll do anything—_

 ** _PROLOGUE_**

"Number 97." A man in white whispered and the girl in front of him looked up. He held his breath, mesmerized by those piercing blue eyes. 

Out of all of them, this girl is the only one with eyes that looked like the sky. 

They were in a white room, a room so white that one spec of dust can be seen. The girl tilted her head to the side, her long pink hair following her movement. She adjusted herself on the bed to face the man. 

The man took something from his pocket. He adjusted his eyeglasses and took a step backward. This was to know if it was succesful or not. If _this girl_ was successfully made or not. If she wasn't, she was to be disposed of. 

He extended out his hand and threw the coin that he held towards the girl. 

It was so quick that in a split-second, the coin was sent flying towards the wall at incredible speed and strength. Cracks started to appear, and soon the wall started to collapse. The coin was disappated. 

_Another successful experiment,_ the man said to himself as he wrote down notes on his clipboard. He looked at the girl once more. 

She was small in built. Wrists so thin that you thought they might split into half anytime. She looked weak. But that incredible strength and speed told him that Number 97 will become a very important asset. 

"We're done here." The man said and a door opened behind him. He left the room and the girl was left alone. 

On that rainy day, a man begged for his life as he crawled on the muddy ground. He was crying and wounded, but out of it all, he was terrified. Terrified of the demon that was behind him. 

"Sir," Her voice chimed. "Why don't you look at me?" 

Like heck he would. No matter how pretty or kind her voice sounds, only a foolish man would look at her. For anyone who looks into her eyes would see hell in them. 

He heard a loud crash and he winced, biting his lip. It wa his house, his home, that was burning down to ashes behind them. And the one who set it ablaze was the girl whose shadow loomed over him. 

"Papa." The man's eyes widened in shock. His whole body trembled, clenching his hands into fists in anger. 

"Give me what I want and I'll spare your daughter." Her voice sounded so demonic. 

"What do you want?! I'll give you—" And as he turned around, he lost his voice. Those blue eyes that seem to look into his soul was death himself. 

"Then please die." She pointed her sword towards him. The man looked at his daughter one last time, whose eyes were filled with dread and sadness. 

"97." The girl whispered and in one quick movement, blood splattered everywhere. And only a young girl's cry filled the night. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Kyujunana**

 **九十七**

 **Chapter 1**

It was on that rainy day when Kidō first saw her. Blue eyes that showed him the endless sky, pink hair bouncing off small and slouched shoulders.

The said prodigy woke up to the sound of rain crashing against his bedroom widow. Everything echoed as he pushed himself up, the bed making a creaking noise. He felt awful, quite awful it seems. All the blood came rushing in his head and the prodigy was forced to lean against the wall.

His head was pounding, and his ears were ringing. The taste of alcohol still lingered around his mouth. His throat burned like hell and the only thing — only question that popped into his mind was, _Who's the fool that went out drinking on a school night?_

As he forced himself to stand, everything around him blurred. Fighting the wave of nausea, he stood up and walked towards the bathroom door.

 _This is the worst,_ he groaned in disgust as he splashed water over his sweaty face. Even if his whole body felt tired to the point that he might collapse anytime now, he still sighed in relief at the cool kisses the water generously gave. It cleared all the blurry thoughts and sleep off his mind.

But still, he could still hear the ringing and buzzing from yesterday. The sound of loud music and the noisy chattering of people dancing along the floor of the bar his group went to last night. His eyes throbbed in pain as he remembered the way the lights flickered on and off with various shades of red and blue and — Argh! Just the thought of it made his head ache.

He just wasn't fit for stuff like bars and alcohol . He was the type that would rather read a book indoors and enjoy the silence rather than dance all night to the point where you go naked with people you barely knew. But you see, he was forced by his friends to at least try just once. And that was after their soccer training.

 _Maybe I have to give then a piece of my mind_

Kidō stepped out of the bathroom with water dripping from his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose because of the lingering smell of the alcohol that stuck on his clothes. Maybe he'll throw them away soon. Washing them won't be enough, but burning them might be.

He threw the clothes that he wore to one corner of the room and grabbed fresh ones from inside his closet, sniffing them first.

It took him several minutes to finally finish preparing himself. Kidō frowned. After so many sprays of perfume, the smell of alcohol remained. It was faint, but still it remained, reminding him that drinking was really not his thing.

Thunder clashed overheads and the rain poured — stronger and heavier.

Kidō clicked his tongue in annoyance. He hated the rain since he was little because it soaked his clothes and dirties his shoes. And they had to clean the soccer field every single time it rained.

The sound of cars and people stepping on puddles rang his ears. The rain continued to pour and his only protection was the white umbrella over his head. The smell of the rain-filled cement and the muddy ground of gardens he walked pass by filled his nose and the smell of alcohol was no more.

Travelling to the university took more time today than usual because of the busy streets and stations; maybe because of the heavy rain. People holding various colors of umbrellas filled the entrance, some running for shelter. Kidō sighed again as he followed them inside.

"Yo." A sudden tap on his shoulder made the prodigy turn around abruptly, his surprised look greeted by a calm expression of a certain, metallic-haired soccer player. He had his hair tied into a low braid which made his former look of hardened hair childish. Tan skin greeted white as they both bumped their fists together.

"Gōenji," Kidō smiled at his friend and teammate, Gōenji Shūya.

Gōenji grinned back and nudged at the prodigy's shoulder because he too, felt a throbbing ache at the back of his head after the drinking party last night. He wasn't the type to read and stay at home, but he wasn't also the type to go out drinking on a school night. It was stupid of him he knows, but it made him glad that he's not the only one suffering.

Kidō placed his umbrella in the racks by the entrance of the building before both he and the other boy started walking towards their own departments.

The said prodigy had two courses to attend each day; AB Psychology and Sports. It was quite unusual since most people thought of him as the "business man" type, not as a psychologist or an athlete or a coach. But it made Kidō feel at ease, both his courses. As to why Kidō chose Psychology was because it interested him in so many ways and angles, tugging at his loose strings.

Gōenji waved good bye to the prodigy before going the opposite direction as him; towards the Business department. Just like Kidō, he also had two courses to attend; Business and Sports. And even if they both parted ways every morning, later in the afternoon, they would both go to the same classes for Sports.

The rain kept on pouring, not knowing when to stop and it annoyed lots of students who were eager to have activities on the fields. Kidō sighed as he leaned against his palm. Classes were still going on and he wasn't really in the mood right now. His headache that disappeared awhile ago was coming back from behind his head and spreading across his forehead. It throbbed slowly and he rubbed his temple gently.

Noisy chattering and the distant voice of his professor filled the whole room; the squeaky sound of the marker against the whiteboard; and papers crumpling. Kidō winced as the pain worsened and a wave of nausea overwhelmed him which made his vision blurry. He clicked his tongue, making up his mind — _truly_ making up his mind — that drinking on a school night was a very stupid thing to do.

An hour or so, the school bell rang, signalling lunch and he sighed in relief, shoulders slumped and eyes droopy. The prodigy slowly stacked his books and slipped them inside his bag before following the other students out of the room. The hallway were filled with students in groups, laughing and squealing as they made their way towards the cafeteria. Kidō clicked his tongue in annoyance. He hated crowdy places, really. Not only was it noisy and humid, it was also suffocating and rang his ears.

He forced his way through groups of students, his headache worsening every single step he took.

 _What a time to have a hangover._ Kidō sighed as he steadied himself against the wall after he successfully escaped the grips of suffocation. He pushed the door to the cafeteria open.

"Kidō!" A wave in the crowd caught his attention and teal greeted his eyes. Following the wave, he made his way towards the table at one side of the room where his friends sat.

"Kazemaru," The prodigy nodded towards the teal-haired boy who was eating a tuna sandwich. Kazemaru smiled back and continued eating his food, acting as if everything was okay. Why? He was the one who planned the late night drinking party that Kidō was dragged into.

And he pulled the said boy's ponytail.

"Ow — What did you do that for?" Kazemaru struck him a glare which the red-eyed boy shrugged off.

"For dragging me out to drink last night." Kidō clicked his tongue again. He rubbed his temples, feeling the soft vibration and the faint throb of the headache. His right eye twitched in annoyance after remembering as to what happened last night, and Kazemaru was the one to blame here. He was the suspect and the prodigy was the victim that was dragged out. "My head hurts like hell."

Gōenji chuckled. "Yeah right," He turned his head towards the one who sat beside him, who had his face planted on the table, ignoring the burger that was left on his tray, untouched.

His orange headband was a contrast to his dark brown locks, and as he raised his head, Kidō had to force down a snort at the sight of his friend. Endō, who only belonged in the Sports department, since all he had in his head was soccer, had dark lines under his red and puffy eyes. It was proof that he lacked sleep. And the way his lips cracked told him that this guy had a drink one to many last night.

Endō's eyes fixed on Kidō unsteadily. "This is the worst." He groaned as he planted his face on the table once more. "I'm never challenging Kazemaru in a drinking contest ever again."

Kazemaru chuckled. Out of the four of them, he was the one who held out the most in drinking. He had the highest tolerance in alcohol and only a fool challenges him on a drinking contest, which was his forté. But maybe, just maybe, going out drinking on a school night maybe was a foolish idea.

Both Gōenji and Kidō could only sigh at the state their friend was in.

In the afternoon were their Sports classes, and it looked like the rain wasn't stopping anytime soon. Kidō had the urge to skip classes and just go home and lie down and wait until his hangover would disappear. Well, who in the world would have the urge to go to class with his head throbbing like hell and throat burning?

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he noticed the faint smell of alcohol — and his slice of pizza tasted awful.

But just like any other day, in the afternoon, classes continued as usual which made the prodigy bite his lowerlip, trying to hide the annoyance he felt.

Kidō sat on the uppermost part of the room, spearating from the other three, where only a few students can be seen. Most of them sat at the front, eager to listen and participate throughout the whole afternoon — but he wasn't. The smell of the alcohol seemed a lot stronger now — or maybe, is he hallucinating? — No, No. That can't be right. It's wrong time to start hallucinating, quite a wrong time.

He closed his eyes and massaged the area between his eyebrows, trying to organize his thoughts and send away the clouds that made his head go fuzzy and blurry. He relaxed, and the noise died down — was he feeling sleepy? Maybe he was. It's hard to fight the wave of exhaustion, you see. And Kidō's really bad with struggles; but Endō was.

The prodigy bit down a laugh as he remembered the way the coffee-haired bastard _literally_ dragged his saggy ass to their classes.

His right eye twitched.

Why was it so quiet? Is sleep finally sinking in? Was he really sleepy? Maybe — he opened his eyes — but he wasn't.

And that was the first time Kidō held his breath for someone he first saw.

Pink hair bouncing off shoulders as she walked towards the front, holding her chin up high and a cheerful smile plastered on her face; but the one thing that mesmerized him truly were the color of her eyes, and Kidō found himself staring into the sky's eyes. Blue — so blue — to the point that he forgot about the clouded heavens outside.

Red eyes met blue, and not once did she falter.

But it was him who looked away, transferring his gaze from blue to gray. And he watched; he watched the rain as it continued to pour.

"Don't you think you were staring too much?" And Kidō winced at the voice and heard a clatter beside him. He glanced towards his side, leaning more against his arm that supported his weight on the table.

And once again, red met blue as he saw the girl whose pink hair bounced off sit beside him.

"You don't mind do you?" She asked without facing the prodigy. Her fingers went up to her hair as she tugged a loose strand behind her ear.

"I don't." Kidō glanced her way, fighting the urge to face her. He was fearing that once he lay his eyes on those azure ones, he won't again look away. It attracted him, pulling at his heart's string; because for the first time in his whole life he saw eyes that held the beauty of the sky.


	3. Chapter 2

**Kyujunana**

 **九十七**

 **Chapter 2**

"That new girl," Kazemaru flexed his fingers and then yawned. Classes just ended awhile ago and the four were packing their things. "It's unusual for a new student around this time of the year."

And Kidō had to agree. They were already halfway throughout the school year and the sudden transfer of a student shook them.

The rain was still pouring; thunder clashed overhead. Their Sports classes ended earlier than usual and because of the heavy weather they weren't able to use the fields and stuck to lectures and books all afternoon. It made the prodigy's headache to worsen since noon.

"Hey Kidō," He closed his eyes before facing the teal-haired man beside him. "Wanna go drop by a cafe? You know —maybe drink down the alcohol with coffee?"

Kidō shot him a glare before pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn't in the mood today and all he wanted was to go back home and sleep until this headache disappears.

"I — I refuse," He sighed, rubbing both of his temples as his head continued to throb. "You guys go on ahead. I'm not in the mood right now." The prodigy waved a hand, signalling Kazemaru that he wanted no part in his plans.

This made the teal-haired boy chuckle, because he was the reason why Kidō was suffering of a headache and Endō of a hangover. But drinking out during late night weekends is not that exciting as drinking out on a school night.

"If you say so." The teal-haired boy chuckled before facing Gōenji who had Endō's arm wrapped around his shoulders. "We'll be going then."

The prodigy forced a smile and waved his hand as the three turned around to leave, holding their own umbrellas as they made their way through the rain, and Kidō was left alone.

He watched as more students left the campus with their friends, different colored umbrellas a contrast of the grey weather. The brown-haired boy sighed as he massaged his temples before standing up from the bench near the entrance and grabbed his umbrella at the rack. He faced the heavy rain with slumped shoulders.

"Good Afternoon." A tap on the shoulder and Kidō turned around quickly — and he regretted that action as it sent a wave of dizziness and throb to his head.

The prodigy groaned and closed his eyes before opening them again; and for the second time that day, red met blue as he came face to face with their new classmate. He bit his lip.

The girl that sat beside him gave him a wide smile that reached her eyes, and Kidō had to look immediately away because no matter how hard he tried to focus his gaze wholey on her face, his eyes would return to that shade of blue — the color of the sky.

"Good afternoon." Kidō replied with a bow before facing the rain again. He watched as droplets of water hit the cement and dissolve as if it were no more.

And he could feel his heart beating roughly against his rib cage, but thank the gods that the sound of the rain and thunder was loud enough to cover the sound of his heart beats. He tightened his grip on the umbrella's handle, not knowing what to do.

"It's quite a heavy rain today," The girl tucked her hair behind her ear slowly. "It's nice."

"I hate it."

And Kidō wanted to punch himself right on the face as he said those words without thinking at all. But it was true, he hated the rain. He hated the rain because it just ruins the mood of everything. And what he hates about it the most were the memories that came crashing down with them; and of every drop of water and of every puddle stepped on, the prodigy would frown again and again.

"But why?" Her voice chimed which made the prodigy wince.

"It's a mess and a pain in the ass," The brown-haired boy scratched the back of his neck before sighing. "It just gives us problems."

The girl beside him laughed loudly that for a while, Kidō could only hear her. Her voice deflected the sound of the rain and the prodigy glanced her way occassionally.

"I like it." Kidō looked at her with eyes filled with curiousity. The girl had a small smile on her face as she looked at the ground where the rain fell, her pink hair danced gently along the wind that came with the heavy rain.

She chuckled as she saw the confused face of the prodigy, who had raised a brow. "It's quite weird," She tucked her hair behind her ear. "But you see, it feels like the rain is the only thing that understands me. A companion perhaps? But for you," She looked at him straight in the eyes.

"It's not only about cleaning the fields and soaking your clothes wet, right?"

And Kidō's eyes were filled with surprise at her words. He looked at her silently, but the look in his eyes were the words that never came out of his mouth. The red-eyed boy tightened his grip on the umbrella's handle until his knuckles turned white.

 _It's not only about—_

And with those words, the prodigy fell silent. And with the silence came unpleasant memories of black and grey and red, and of the sound of sirens and the yell of a young boy that was muffled by the rain; and the coldness of the body that he held to his chest.

And the warmth of the girl's touch brought him back to reality. Kidō blinked.

"Excuse me? Are you alright?" She frowned.

The prodigy shook the thoughts out of his mind and forced a smile on his lips. "I'm fine, um..."

"Zaizen Tōko," She smiled. "The name's Zaizen Tōko, Kidō-kun."

 **00000000**

He held his umbrella tightly, a sour look on his face as he replayed the memory of his encounter yet again with the girl whose eyes shimmered. With a wave and a small smile, she opened her white umbrella and turned her back towards the prodigy, leaving him alone — and silent.

Kidō bit his lower lip and sighed in frustration. Because he didn't expect that those words of hers affected him so — bringing back memories that he had long hidden at the back of his mind — and this was to forget the feeling of loss and despair.

The prodigy looked at his right palm, flexing his fingers and watched as a single drop of rain trickled along his hand and to his wrist. He frowned, the corners of his lips bent downwards and his eyebrows furrowed, as he saw the small line — a scar from years ago —trailing down from her thumb and to the other end.

And remembering the event on how he got it made it sting as if the line of flesh was cut just yesterday. It tickled his hand uncomfortably.

He was a strong man, quite strong. Not only physically, but also emotionally. He learned how to hide his emotions behind a mask of strength — a wall perhaps — that took so many years to build.

But he felt it crack.

Kidō sighed again, trying to erase the memory that came along with the girl's words. It crashed against him like waves, catching him off guard and pushing him off his feet.

 _It feels weird,_ Kidō placed a hand on his chest as he felt it it tighten, and then it became hard to breath — as if something heavy was bringing him down.

 **000000000**

A certain pink-haired girl was making her way along the sidewalk with heavy steps, her head lowered as she ignored the looks she recieved from strangers around her. Her footsteps made quite a noise as they stepped on puddles of rainwater.

She felt her heart race — abnormally — and it made her uncomfortable; a frown slowly creeping up her lips. Her fingers tickled and itch in a way that distracted her, and she knew what they wanted — warmth. Warmth of another.

Tōko growled in frustration as she pushed her apartment door open and slammed it close. She didn't even bother to properly arrange her shoes and umbrella, but instead, she quickly barged in with slouched shoulders and made her way to her bedroom.

The sound of the rain was muffled once she buried her face on her clean bedsheets. It was dark and cold, and the tickle and itch on her fingers continued to worse as she slowly felt her hand go numb — it was a feeling she hated the most — a feeling of emptiness.

A black folder layed beside her, with dozens of white papers inside and Tōko trailed her fingers against the smooth surface before flipping it open gently.

Thunders clashed overhead and the sound of the rain became louder, light from the outside was the only source of brightness for the pink-haired girl who scanned the papers inside the folder.

And a picture of a brown-haired man caught her eye.

Tōko frowned as she felt a sudden weight on her shoulders. Was it just her or the darkness of the room was suffocating her?

She looked at the picture, eyes squinted and mouth parted. The pink-haired girl's frown deepened as she forced the taste of bile down her throat — forcing herself to stay compsed. Because she knows, she really knows that they trusted her with this — and failure wasn't an option.


End file.
